The Commander's Slave (6 page)

Slowly, he took a nipple into his
mouth and suckled on it, the smooth wetness of his tongue joining
the roughness of the textile, his hands tightening on her as she
sighed and buckled against his lips. He moved to the second breast,
leaving the first to rub against a patch of wet texture. She leaned
into him, trying to push herself further into his mouth, moaning
her encouragement, and he was happy to oblige, grabbing her full
breasts in his hands, rubbing them with hard strokes before
grabbing the edges of her neckline and ripping the material in two.
Now Asha’s breasts were only partially covered, a nipple
occasionally emerging from indigo folds as she breathed.

He ignored them now, licking her flat
abdomen with its slight, sexy mound, then moving further down,
pulling her pants to the floor and kissing around her triangle of
copper curls. Her scent was musky and intoxicating, and he
stiffened the tip of his tongue, forcing it between her legs,
hearing her gasp above him as he reached the button of her
clitoris. He flicked his tongue back and forth and, with a whimper,
felt Asha shifting, moving her legs apart, allowing him
access.

Taking one callused finger, he thrust
it into her wetness, feeling her grasp against his digit. He
withdrew and moved his hands around to her buttocks, licking at her
clitoris again while he spread her cheeks and ran the tip of his
moist finger around the tip of her anus, holding her firm as she
bucked against him. With deliberation, he applied more pressure
with his finger, sinking it into her while she cried out. He knew
he could make her come then and release her lubrication over his
mouth in seconds, but that wasn’t what he wanted.

Deftly, he turned her and pushed her
down until her breasts and head brushed the floor, leaving her
backside elevated and open to his erect shaft. Gathering her pants
in one fist, he ripped them off her and threw them away from
him.

“
Do you know what I’d like
now, slave? Can you guess?”

Wordlessly, she moved her knees
apart.

Bending over her, he licked the spot
his finger had just vacated, circling her pale anal rosette with
the tip of his tongue, tasting its sourness. At the same time, he
inserted one finger into her soaking wet vagina, then withdrew it
and inserted two. She gasped. Withdrew and inserted three. She
shouted muffled cries into the carpet.

Then he straightened and guided his
stiff penis into her wetness. Once in position, he licked his thumb
and placed his left hand at the apex of her backside, slowly
inserting his wet finger into her other opening, stopping while she
cried and shuddered against him, then starting again when her
spasms subsided. When his second knuckle was fully embedded, he
paused, letting her convulsions ripple against him.

“
Do you like that?” he
asked softly.

Her answer was half-cry, half-sobbed
confession. “Yes master ... oh please, master. Please take me.
Please take me.” To emphasize her words, she moved against him,
impaling herself even further on his cock. “Please,” she sobbed
faintly. “Please.”

With his free hand he encircled her
hips, finding her clitoris engorged, slick and slippery. It took
very few practiced flicks to bring her to screaming orgasm,
contracting against both cock and thumb and sending him over the
edge, as well. Where this woman was concerned, he seemed to have an
inexhaustible supply of semen which he pumped into her, her cries
an exultant clarion to his ears. In his wildest dreams, he couldn’t
have imagined someone more responsive to his every
touch.

How could he possibly give her
up?

Gently, he withdrew himself and
released her manacles, lifting her and carrying her to the room’s
shower. With minimum words, he initiated a warm, solid stream of
water, peeled off the tatters of her ruined top, and seated her on
one crouched knee, soaping her arms, torso and gently between her
legs before rinsing her off. She still shuddered against him, a
reaction of his double penetration and one that convinced him more
than anything else that she really was as innocent as Daurent had
surmised.

Maybe he could track down others of
her race, he mused? There couldn’t be too many golden-skinned races
in the galaxy. He had a sudden vision of returning her to her
people, receiving their adulation in return while she smiled
graciously at his elbow ….

No!

He stood her upright and helped her
into her indigo pants. He could barely keep the last traces of his
own people together, much less spare the time adventuring off into
unknown sectors because of one female, as intoxicating as she
was.

He should remember her primary
purpose, as a Fusion breeder for the rebirth of a hybrid Seti race.
It would take decades, but he was determined that the tragedy that
befell his people, the undeniable traces of their existence, would
not disappear into the chaos of galactic history.

“
You’ll want to rest before
your evening meal,” he instructed. “Lie down, and I’ll get you a
blanket.”

He returned moments later from his
quarters, a quilted grey coverlet over his arm.

Asha accepted it gratefully, wrapping
its length around her shoulders.

Tangus sat next to her, strangely
reluctant to leave. And the words started leaving his mouth before
he realized it.

“
My species
comes--came--from a planet in the Vodex system,” he said. “We
didn’t have a specific name for it, we just called it the Seti home
world. I always thought it one of the most beautiful planets in the
galaxy, full of soaring mountain ranges and lakes so wide you
couldn’t see the far shore. We weren’t a large population by
galactic standards, just three billion with a wonderful world to
share.”

“
Wonderful, that is, until
the Lasc Prein came along.” He angled a look at her. “Have you
heard of the Lasc Prein?”

Asha frowned for a moment, indicating
perhaps faint recognition, then shook her head.

“
Lucky. The Lasc Prein
dominate two sectors of the galaxy. They’re an old member of the
Fusion: political, smart, and quick. In retrospect, it was
stupidity that we would try to stand against them.”

He fell silent.

“
What happened?”

Tangus’ mouth worked but it took
seconds before he spoke. “They destroyed us of course. The entire
planet. Three billion thinking, feeling people. The Seti home world
is now a very pretty asteroid belt.”

She gasped.

“
Only the Second Fleet
survived.”

“
This ship?”

“
This ship, thirty others,
a few thousand men. Only a few thousand.”

It had seemed so important to explain it to her, so she
could understand that he was more than the common mercenary others
took him for.
Did
she understand? Could she comprehend
what it was like to be part of a species that had been wiped off
the star charts so completely?

Did it even matter?

“
Would you like a tour of the
Strike
?” he asked
suddenly.

A smile curved her lips.

“
I’d like that.”

“
I’ll come for you after
the evening meal.”

Chapter
Four

As promised, Tangus came back after she had finished her
meal. He also brought with him more clothes (
where
did
he get them
from?
she wondered) and she
obligingly changed into another pair of trousers and a more modest
long-sleeved shift that reached her thighs. Her feet, however,
remained bare, but Asha said nothing, not wanting to give him the
slightest excuse to retract his surprising offer.

He seemed to have reached some stage
of equilibrium, dispelling the demon that had repeatedly driven him
inside her in frantic sexual need. Need, she was shamed to admit,
she fully shared.

Now, the giant warrior paused for a
moment by the door and looked embarrassed.

“
Outside, call me Tangus,”
he said without looking at her, then pressed his thumb against a
hidden panel. The door hissed open.

Asha hid her smile and followed him,
looking around her as she walked. Occasionally, a soldier walked
past her, his eyes rigidly ahead, as if evincing even a trace of
curiosity was more than his life was worth.

“
It’s a….” How did you
compliment a space-going vessel? “…nice ship,” she finally ventured
after they had toured the engine-room and he gave her an overview
of the propulsion systems.

“
That’s why I stole it,”
Tangus admitted with a feral grin.

“
Stole?”

He shrugged and led her out of the
section. “My flagship was badly damaged during the Lasc Prein’s
offensive. We kept it patched and limping for another three years,
but I couldn’t avoid the inevitable.”

That started her thinking. “So the
chamber ....”

“
Came with the craft,” he admitted, his terse tone
indicating that further discussion on
that
subject was
closed.

They climbed three levels, moving
forward, until they reached a door at the end of a dead-end. Tangus
tapped a code into the keypad, and they entered.

The bridge.

The ship’s past owner believed in
function as well as pleasure, Asha thought. She recognized the
young officer Tangus called Daurent, now rising from the command
chair--for a start, he was the only one brave enough to grin at
her, and she found herself returning the greeting. Around him,
cramped banks of winking lights were manned by three
others.

“
The
Strike’s
previous owner loved technology,”
Tangus commented as he watched her eyes scan the crowded
consoles.

“
The
Strike’s
previous owner also had the largest
ego this side of the Straw-Hair Nebula,” Daurent retorted,
approaching them and smoothly taking Asha’s right hand in his. He
turned it over and planted a feather light kiss on her
wrist.

“
Sub-commander Daurent
Fens, at your service.”

“
Oh,” was all Asha could
say.

“
I thought you were working
on the new propulsion optimizers,” Tangus cut in
harshly.

“
Tested and
working.”

“
Long-range
sensors?”

“
Clear.” Asha tried to
withdraw her hand, but Daurent kept hold of it for a few seconds
longer than necessary before relinquishing it with a
flourish.

“
Agri-hormones?” Did Asha
hear a hint of desperation in Tangus’ voice?

“
We’ve tested it on a
sample. Awaiting results.”

Daurent kept his eyes on Asha’s,
giving her a quick wink before finally looking at his
superior.

“
Everything’s clear,
commander. We’re coasting at sub-light five five. Only four more
jumps and we’re home.”

But Daurent’s assurances didn’t dampen
Tangus’ irritation. In fact, they seemed to increase it. “What
about the duty rosters?”

“
Slen and I did them this
morning.”

Tangus clenched his jaw. Anything that
he wanted to say would make him look churlish. Worse still was the
realization that he only wanted to say churlish things to Daurent.
But his first priority was to defuse the situation before he sat
down and contemplated matters.

“
Madam,” he said, turning
to her, “is there any more of the ship you wish to see?”

Asha looked quickly from one man to
the other. “Nooo.”

“
Then I’ll escort you back
to your quarters.”

And he did precisely that, leading her
into her chamber in silence, ushering her in, and closing the door
behind her.

* * * *

Once more, Asha was left to her own
thoughts, ones that were beginning to get more disturbing the more
she examined them.

She had crashed on a planet, lost her
memory, and been bought as a sex-slave. Outrage, anger, shock,
disgust, these should have been the emotions dominating her,
especially when her buyer had the arrogance to take away her
virginity without a single word of apology or softness.

And perhaps her first carnal encounter
with Tangus had been tinged with equal parts outrage and disbelief.
But deep inside, hadn’t she also harbored less-than-savory thoughts
herself about the man? Hadn’t a frisson of awareness danced up her
spine, tensing her body and hardening her nipples, when their eyes
met at Hell’s Market?

Out of all the species of bidders that day, wasn’t it true
that she had hoped
he
would be the one to finally possess
her? And when he had possessed her, over and over again, instead of
satiation, hadn’t she instead yearned for more and more of his hard
intimacy?

Asha groaned to herself.

Maybe she could have deluded herself
that this was merely a physical reaction to his overpowering
masculinity. That, in time, it would burn out, as all relationships
did that were based on only sexual intimacy.